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In a period of national questioning of social work quality, Sussex research has significantly influenced the curricula content of and entry standards for social work education (SWE). New guidelines set admissions standards for all English social work courses, resulting in better quality candidates. Law teaching has been shaped by a new curriculum guide based on our research, as well as the development of prize-winning educational resources. Social workers feel better equipped to communicate with children through contributions to new curricula requirements, textbooks to improve teaching, and direct influence — via Continuing Professional Development — on the quality of communications.
Jim Gallacher and Robert Ingram's research on the role of short cycle higher education (SCHE) has now had a significant impact on the development of policy in Scotland, within the European Union and beyond. This has led to initiatives in Scotland to enhance the role of Higher National Certificates and Diplomas (HNC/Ds), and strengthen articulation pathways between colleges and universities. This work has also been recognised at an international level in shaping policy within the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) and CEDEFOP (European Centre for Development of Vocational Training) on the 'permeability' between vocational and academic qualifications.
Innovative interdisciplinary research undertaken in the areas of intersectionality, diversity, and widening participation at the University of Hull contributed first to the development of a project funded by the European Union, the EU-ALFA III funded project `Development of Policies to Promote Widening Participation and Equal Opportunities in Higher Education Institutions in Latin America' (MISEAL). This project involves a consortium of 16 international institutions (4 EU universities and 12 universities in Latin America). Second, within MISEAL, research undertaken at Hull has led to the development and use of intersectional statistical tools for the measurement of inequality in the 12 Latin American partner HE institutions, of protocols for the analysis of their regulations regarding widening participation and equal opportunities and of guidelines for the organization of workshops (for staff and students) to raise awareness about inequality. MISEAL has also organised a number of reach-out activities, promoted collaboration with governmental organisation and created a network of experts in this area. The relevant impact has been primarily on public services and policy making (especially in the areas of widening participation and equal opportunities) and on education (at an international level and especially in the area of curriculum development and knowledge transfer). The primary beneficiaries have been policy makers including legal professionals and managers who are involved with the development of legal frameworks for widening participation and equal opportunities in Latin American HE institutions as well as academics and students internationally and groups concerned with curriculum development in HE institutions in Latin America.
UCL research shows that UK ethnic minority (EM) medical students and doctors frequently underperform in both undergraduate and postgraduate examinations. These findings have been used to help ensure the safety of medical healthcare, particularly via contributions to debate and decision-making among policy-makers and medical education professionals. This has led to: the development of new or amended guidelines; changes to the ways in which international examinations are run; greater transparency in the sector's analyses of how ethnicity impacts on key outcomes; and subsequently greater transparency in the public dissemination of information relating to medical education's successes and shortcomings. The use of the research to inform relevant media discourse has likewise improved transparency about these shortcomings, as well as engaging a broad public audience with these and important related issues.
Increasing immigration, the rise of the British National Party, and the London bombings put social cohesion firmly on the policy agenda. James Laurence and Anthony Heath's research (2008) on the predictors of social cohesion provided the key empirical foundation for policies implemented by the Department for Communities and Local Government from 2008 onwards. These policies in turn impacted the practices of local authorities in a variety of domains, including the allocation of social housing and the funding of community projects. The research was also cited by a number of organizations beyond government in their policy documents, from the Equality and Human Rights Commission to consultancies such as Ipsos MORI.
This body of regional, national and internationally commissioned research, alongside the development of outputs designed specifically for user groups, has resulted in: changes to training interventions with those who are long-term unemployed regionally and trans-nationally, including refugees; changes to policy and practice to enhance success in accessing higher education of refugees and asylum seekers regionally and nationally; development of a set of `guiding principles' adopted by the Higher Education Academy in their funding of Strategic Development Grants focussed on enhancing ethnic minority student degree attainment; critical debate in national press and via other public platforms.
This case study brings together research focused on the ways in which social groups defined by a range of marginalized identities are excluded from participation in economic and social opportunities, particularly in the North East of England. The research has informed public discussions of inclusion and policy debate at the national and European level and has influenced approaches and practices of a number of partner organisations in their attempts to facilitate social inclusion.
The impact is on student equity, retention and success in higher education (HE). The research has informed national policies: Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE), Office for Fair Access (OFFA), Higher Education Funding Council for Wales (HEFCW), the Cabinet Office, Quality Assurance Agency and the National Union of Students. Findings have influenced institutional policy and practice: 190 examples of how the conceptual framework generated as part of the research has been applied, and the impact of the interventions; 14 institutions are engaged in a three year change programme (2012/13-2014/15) to implement the findings, impacting on 42 programmes and 4453 level 4 students per year.
Bristol research has led to a fundamental improvement of policies and programmes in the English education system so that they make visible and take into account, the needs of Black and Minority Ethnic (BME) learners at risk of underachieving. The studies have been used to shape progressive rounds of Government policy and programming including the implementation of the Ethnic Minority Achievement Grant and the Black Pupils Achievement Programme, informing and scaling-up good practice relating to school leadership and teaching in local authorities and schools throughout the 2008-2013 assessment period. They have also been used to increase levels of understanding amongst policymakers and the wider public about the barriers to achievement facing BME pupils and successful practice for overcoming those barriers.
The research has explored the impact of welfare transformations on the activities of social workers on the frontline. A key concern has been to explore the gap between, on the one hand, social work ethical statements and the commitments of practitioners on entering the field and, on the other, the workplace reality of marketization, austerity driven cuts and a range of restrictions placed on workers by new regulatory regimes. The research explores the potential, internationally, for a new `engaged' social work practice that draws service users, carers, academics, and practitioners together in defence of good quality, value driven social work.